New Zealand's virus recession ends with record growth

[WELLINGTON] New Zealand roared back from a coronavirus-induced recession with record economic growth of 14.0 per cent in the July-September quarter, official data showed on Thursday.

The strong figures followed an 11.0 per cent decline in the previous quarter - when New Zealand was in a Covid-19 lockdown.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the recovery was a pay-off for New Zealand's success in containing the virus, with only 25 deaths among a population of five million.

"The economic bounce back is a result of our decision to go hard and early during the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

"We supported more than 1.8 million workers through the Wage Subsidy Scheme and invested billions of dollars into infrastructure, training and creating jobs."

Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said service industries drove growth, with activity in retail, accommodation, and restaurants up 42.8 per cent as Kiwis enjoyed a near-normal domestic existence following the successful lockdown.

"This resulted in the strongest quarterly growth in GDP on record in New Zealand," SNZ senior manager Paul Pascoe said.

Kiwiback chief economist Jarrod Kerr said the scale of the figures were hard to digest.

"It's clear that 95 per cent of our economy is performing particularly well, but we must spare a thought for the other five per cent," he said, adding that the international education and tourism sectors continued to struggle.

AFP